30 March, 2006

Velo Orange has received quite a few orders for the bell mount spacers; thanks. They should ship no later than the end of next week.

The toe clip leathering kits will also go into production. I've ordered a supply of needles and of waxed thread, but I'm still awaiting additional leather samples. I think the price will be $7. That's not a bad deal; Robert (in the comments to the previous post) said that a pair of leathered Christophe clips went for over $50 on E-Bay recently.

The flashlight mount is also on track. I've made two more pairs in stainless steel and finally nailed down the proper thickness of metal. The plan is to offer them in two standard sizes, one for C-cell flashlights and one for AA-cell lights. They will ship with leather to line the inside that can be applied with one of two thicknesses of double sided exterior grade tape. This will allow them to fit most flashlights.

Yesterday I worked on the new Velo Orange decaleur du sac, or handlebar bag mount. The search is on for a welder to make a small production run. My idea is to offer an inexpensive version of this type of rack:

UPDATE: I've found a welder to make the decaleurs and we should have the first one by the end of the week. I hope to have them for sale within 2 to 3 weeks.

The leather toe clips covers will ship by the end of this week. I should say that the leather on the initial batch is a little softer and thinner that on the NOS Christophe toe clips I have. But if it wears out within a year I'll offer a free replacment.

The metal for the first batch of flashlight mounts is also due to arrive this week. Things are hopping at Velo Orange.

4 comments:

John Price
said...

Hi Chris,

I would definitely be interested in a "decaleur" mounting setup if you offered them for sale. The one you show looks VERY similar to an Alex Singer mount but nicely adapted to a Nitto stem bolt setup. Looks a lot less "fiddly" than the Gilles Berthoud method (with the sliding rod and cotter pins).

As soon as I find the right welder we'll make a small production run of stainless steel decaleurs. I think there may also be a version that mounts to a stainless headset spacer for those newfangled threadless forks.

Stephen, The two prongs on the part attached to the bag fit into the two little tubes on the part on the bike. This is the system used by Alex Singer and some of the other great French builders. The idea is to leave as little hardware on the bike as possible when not using the bag. Later we may offer a basket, and a water bottle mount to also fit the system.